Bab 14: Listening to Music in a Brothel

Editor: Atlas Studios

"Seventy-five days, three thousand Huben Sabers." Xiao Zongshui put the saber in his hand into a box, closed the lid, and patted it. He slowly said, "Zhou Shu, I didn't see wrongly. You did better than I imagined."

"Where, where?" Zhou Shu humbly said, "Superintendent, it's all because of your leadership that we were able to complete the mission so quickly."

"All of you have done well this time," Xiao Zongshui said noncommittally. "I will keep my word. For each of these three thousand Huben Sabers, I will reward one tael of silver. This will be three thousand taels of silver. Zhou Shu, go collect it later and split it with everyone."

A restrained cheer arose from the crowd.

Three thousand taels of silver was a huge sum of money.

The salary of the Forging Apprentices here ranged from half a tael to one tael of silver a month. Even if they earned one tael every month, it would take 250 years to earn 3,000 taels.

Although everyone had previously said that they would give the bounty to Zhou Shu, hearing about such an enormous sum of money still made them excited.

Zhou Shu's expression was calm, but his heart was slightly shaking.

According to the market price, one tael of silver in this world was roughly equivalent to 4,000 yuan in his previous life. In other words, his monthly salary of half a tael of silver was 2,000 yuan…

Three thousand taels of silver was equivalent to twelve million yuan!

In his two lifetimes, he had been a worker at the lowest level. The largest amount of money he had seen was probably the hundred taels that Xiao Zongshui had given him previously.

Now that there is a huge sum of three thousand taels, should I split it with everyone? Or should I be a little black-hearted and leave it all for myself? Anyway, they all said that they would give their bounty to me!

Xiao Zongshui waved his hand and said 'benevolently', "Everyone has worked hard during this period. I will make the decision and give you all a day off!"

"Superintendent, you are wise!" Everyone cheered again.

The Forging Apprentices of the Forging Division were not slaves. In a sense, they should be considered the working class.

It was just that their work intensity was a little too high, and many people died as a result of exhaustion…

According to the rules of the Forging Division, Forging Apprentices could rest for a day every month. But very few of them actually did so.

Because the work intensity was so high, if they didn't work overtime all year round, they wouldn't be able to complete their tasks.

If one couldn't complete the task, the Forging Masters wouldn't bother with human rights and labor laws…

There was no need to worry about the mission now. A day of rest was a good thing for everyone.

Zhou Shu didn't feel much about this. The Forging Division is even more ruthless than those capitalists in my previous life. The capitalists at most utilized the 'nine-nine-six¹' working regime, yet this place has barely any rest for an entire year. Forging Apprentices are used to being exploited, so they're grateful for just some benefits.

Xiao Zongshui left in satisfaction. Zhou Shu looked at the excited crowd and complained in his heart.

"Brother Zhang, come with me to Superintendent Xiao's place later to get the money," Zhou Shu said. "Then we'll split the money!"

"Brother Zhou." Zhang Yibei shook his head. "We agreed that we would give our bounty to you. Consider it our tuition fee."

The rest of the apprentices, including Sixth Brother Wu, opened their mouths but didn't object.

This time, everyone's bounty wasn't small. On average, each person would get 40 to 50 taels, which was equivalent to five to six years of their salary.

But the breathing method Zhou Shu had taught them was priceless.

After learning the breathing method, their forging skills had greatly improved. It could be predicted that not long from now, their salaries would increase. This was the benefit of taking things slow.

Furthermore, after learning the breathing method, it was much easier for them to forge. This meant that the possibility of them dying from exhaustion was even lower. This wasn't something that could be measured with money.

They had definitely profited!

"As I said, I didn't teach you the breathing method for money." Zhou Shu shook his head. In the end, his conscience triumphed.

These were all poor people. Even if he took their money, he wouldn't be able to spend it happily.

"Brother Zhou, we are all crude people. There's nothing else we can repay you with," Zhang Yibei said seriously. "This is a token of our appreciation. If you don't accept it, we won't be able to sleep well at night."

"That's right. Brother Zhou, please accept it." Sixth Brother Wu gritted his teeth and said, "Although all of us have families, our salary is enough for us. We won't starve to death. You're still young. With money, you'll be more confident when you propose marriage in the future."

"Brother Zhou, in the words of a storyteller, I think that you are not an ordinary person," Zhang Yibei continued. "Your forging skills are superb, and you might have a chance to become a Forging Master in the future. Although Forging Masters are esteemed, they usually spend a lot of money. You don't have much savings, so if you have the chance to save up, you should.

"These are sincere words based on my experience. Don't blame me for being nosy…" Zhang Yibei babbled.

After two months, Zhang Yibei finally recognized himself clearly.

After learning the breathing method Zhou Shu taught, Zhang Yibei felt his forging skills improving by the day.

But the more he improved, the more he realized the gap between him and Forging Masters.

In the past, he had thought that he was only a ranked weapon secret forging formula away from becoming a Forging Master. Now, he realized that this distance was already comparable to the distance between heaven and earth.

He had to admit that sometimes, the difference between individuals was too great.

He no longer had hopes of becoming a Forging Master. To be able to learn the breathing method was already a blessing of three lifetimes.

If he wanted more, he would be struck by lightning.

Zhou Shu didn't think too much about Zhang Yibei's words. He would definitely become a Forging Master in the future.

There was no doubt about it.

Was there a need to consider whether Forging Masters spent a lot of money?

Any weapon forged by a Forging Master would earn money.

Zhou Shu had heard that even the lowest-tier ranked weapons were hundreds of times more valuable than ordinary standard weapons. At that time, would he still have to worry about money?

Poverty had limited Zhang Yibei's imagination. For a Forging Master, three thousand taels of silver was easily earned by forging a few weapons.

He had a bright future ahead of him. Why would he ruin his conscience for such a small amount of money?

Fine, Zhou Shu just wanted to feel at ease. Whether he had a conscience or not was not important.

"Brother Zhang, to put it bluntly, it's easier for me to earn money than you guys." Zhou Shu chuckled and said to Zhang Yibei and the others, "It's settled then. Split the money and take a rest!"

"Brother Zhou…" Zhang Yibei, Sixth Brother Wu, and the others were moved. Their eyes reddened, and they reached out to grab Zhou Shu's arm.

Zhou Shu quickly dodged. "Don't be wishy-washy like girls. Brother Zhang, Brother Wu, let's go get the money."

Three thousand taels of silver was an enormous sum, and Xiao Zongshui naturally wouldn't have prepared that much cash.

After some discussion, they decided to distribute the bounty according to everyone's contributions. Then they would register the information in the workshop, and the bounty and salaries would be paid at once.

After registering, everyone was a little excited.

Some received 70 to 80 taels, and even those who didn't receive such a large share of the bounty still got 40 to 50 taels.

As for Zhou Shu, he was the one who forged the most weapons. He forged a total of 150, so his bounty was naturally the highest.

Xiao Zongshui immediately gave him a banknote of 150 taels.

With 250 taels in his pocket, Zhou Shu stood at the main entrance of the 97th Workshop of the Forging Division. In front of him was the bustling imperial capital of Great Xia, but he didn't know where to go.

Although his predecessor had been born in the imperial capital of Great Xia, he had spent most of his life in the Forging Division's workshop. He had practically never gone out.

In addition, he had no family or friends here. He didn't know what to do after suddenly getting a day off.

Go to a brothel and listen to music? Zhou Shu thought of the plot he had often seen in transmigration novels in his previous life. He had to admit that he was a little excited just thinking about it.

But where are the brothels? Zhou Shu was stunned again. He couldn't just ask someone on the streets where the brothels were, right?

Why don't I have a good meal first? The first thing one would do after earning money would be to have a good meal. This was an excellent tradition of China.

He could indeed ask anyone on the streets about this.

He stopped a well-dressed passerby and asked, "Brother, may I know which restaurant is Chang'an's best?"

He had 250 taels of silver on him. If he wanted to eat, he would eat the most expensive food!

The passerby he stopped sized him up with a strange expression. "You're asking about the best restaurant in Chang'an City?"

"Yeah, is there a problem?"

"Ha, no problem." The passerby scoffed. "The best restaurant in Chang'an City is the Four Seas Restaurant. A meal costs at least a hundred taels. Are you sure you can afford it?"

"Over a hundred taels for a meal?" Zhou Shu was speechless. Although he had a large sum of 250 taels on him, spending half of it on a meal seemed a little too extravagant…

One hundred taels was equivalent to around five hundred thousand yuan in his previous life. What kind of food could cost so much?

The life of the rich is really unadorned, Zhou Shu complained. "Erm… I was just casually asking. Is there anywhere of a slightly lower grade?"

Although he had a bright future ahead of him, he couldn't bear to spend a hundred taels on a meal.

"Of course." The passerby chuckled and pointed forward. He said indifferently, "Walk forward along this road, turn right after two intersections, turn left after three intersections, then walk straight past another intersection, and you'll see the sign of a restaurant.

"It's inexpensive there, and the quantity is sufficient. The taste is also pretty good. It's very suitable for you. Mention my name when you're there, and you'll get a discount. You're welcome." The passerby swayed while continuing to walk forward, waving his hand at Zhou Shu.

Zhou Shu opened his mouth. Is any random passerby so extraordinary? Is this what a person of the imperial capital is like? Is any random passerby a big shot?

I can get a discount just by mentioning his name? How much of a discount? Won't I suffer a fracture instead?

Zhou Shu suddenly returned to his senses and yelled, "Hey! Brother, you haven't told me your name!"